Mighty Acorns Day Nursery Ltd

Mighty Acorns Day Nursery Ltd Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY405551 Inspection date 07/06/2010 Inspector Margaret Moffat

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Setting address Wexham Road Children's Centre, Wexham Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL2 5JW Telephone number 01753 570310 Email acornsdaynursery@live.co.uk Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Mighty Acorns Day Nursery was registered in 2009. It operates from the Wexham Road Children's Centre, in Slough, Berkshire. The nursery occupies a secure purpose built annex within the building. The nursery is registered on the Early Years register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 52 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The provision offer a breakfast club, after school club, day nursery and holiday play scheme. It is open each week day from 8.00am to 6.00pm, for 51 weeks of the year. There is a fully enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 161 children on roll altogether and 108 of these are in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Children come from the local and wider community. The nursery currently supports a number of children with special educational needs, and a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 14 staff including the managers. Thirteen of the staff hold appropriate early years qualifications and one is working towards a qualification.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are very happy and confident and enjoy their play in a stimulating environment where their learning and development needs are well met. They are cared for by a team of staff who are committed and supported by effective management. They recognise the uniqueness of each child and provide an inclusive service where all children are valued and included. Although there are systems in place to reflect on the service provided and identify areas for improvement, it is not sufficiently robust as the setting is in breach of a regulation with regard to documentation.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 improve the record of risk assessment so that it includes information on when it was carried out, who conducted it, the date of review and any action taken following a review or incident (Documentation) 07/06/2010

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 develop links with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage so that children benefit from a collaborative approach to their learning and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 development  continue to develop the observation and planning system to ensure the next steps for children's learning are clearly identified and linked to the areas of learning  improve labelling around the nursery to include home languages spoken by all the children.

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the early years provision

There are effective systems in place to safeguard the children. Clear recruitment and vetting procedures help to ensure that children are cared for by suitable people. Staff appraisals are undertaken annually and staff training needs are addressed. The managers and staff are fully aware of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child in their care and there is a named child protection person within the nursery who has undergone training and can assist staff if required. There are good systems in place to monitor visitors to the setting and safeguard the children at all times. Security systems are robust and attendance records are kept accurate and up to date as children arrive and depart. Although there is a written record of risk assessment, it does not contain all the required information and this is a breach of regulation.

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the early years provision

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of how to promote equality and diversity within the setting and provide a range of activities and experiences to enable children to learn about diversity and the world around them. Staff value each child as an individual and they ensure they promote issues within the setting that are of value to the families. For example, some staff speak other languages which helps them communicate with the children and their parents. Space within the nursery is organised well and resources are easily accessible to the children, allowing children to make choices about what they wish to play with. Staff work well as a team and are deployed effectively to fully support children's learning.

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the early years provision

The managers have a proactive approach towards the ongoing improvement of the setting and have recently completed the Bristol Quality Assurance Scheme, which included staff input, to help them evaluate their setting. They receive visits from the local Sure Start team and act on any recommendations they may make to improve the setting. They have recently been awarded a grant to purchase ICT equipment and large play apparatus for the outdoor play area, which they had identified as areas for improvement. They also demonstrate an awareness of their strengths and other areas for improvement. This supports the setting's capacity for ongoing improvement.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with outside agencies who are involved in children's development have been established and staff attend meetings with these agencies and parents. However, this does not extend to providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage to benefit children's learning and development. Partnerships with parents are good and all necessary information and documentation is in place to support the care and learning of the children. Parents of younger children receive daily sheets containing information about their child's day in the nursery and staff are on hand This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 to provide verbal feedback to parents of older children. Parents are very positive about the care their children receive, stating 'staff are very approachable; children are happy and have settled well and it is a nice place for children to learn'. Parents appreciate the opportunity to stay at the setting and settle their children in as they

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and outcomes for children

Staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They ensure that each of the areas of learning is covered in planning and also take account of children's interests and development needs. However, observations made on the children do not include which area of learning they are linked to or show clearly children's next steps in learning. Staff know the children well and this contributes to good trusting relationships. During play staff use appropriate questioning techniques to extend children's thinking and conversational skills and use of mathematical language. For example, as they play with cars children have opportunities to discuss if they will go faster or slower on the carpet and then have racing games and try to predict which car will travel the furthest down the slippery ramp. Children have fun as they repeat this game several times. Children are developing an awareness that print carries meaning and older children can write

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and outcomes for children

their names on their work. Many children can recognise their names from name plates. However, labelling in the rooms does not reflect home languages spoken by children attending the setting.

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and outcomes for children

Children thoroughly enjoy being outdoors and have free flow access to do this. They have fun as they play ball games with their friends and staff, play in the water washing dolls and their clothes and make sand castles and use moulds to make shapes in the sand tray. Children instigate other activities such as making flags for the sand castles and staff make materials available for children to do this. Children confidently cut out shapes from the paper and stick these to straws, then run off proud of their achievements to place the flags on the sandcastles. This activity proves to be popular as other children join in. Children take the opportunity to play in the water that has emptied out into their playground from the water tray in the other provision. They stamp in the water and splash and then they try and jump over the wet to reach the dry parts. Children experiment as they ride the wheeled toys through the water and talk about the tracks they have made.

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and outcomes for children

Children participate in activities and events which help them gain an appreciation of the wider world. For example, they join in the fun as they dress up to celebrate cultural festivals and events. They have opportunities to learn about the living world as they grow their own sun flowers. Younger children enjoy listening to music, singing, dancing and making noises to the beat of the music. They indicate to staff they would like to go outside as they knock on the door leading to outside and shout 'outside'. They are beginning to establish relationships with others. For example, as one child is in the tunnel and the other outside they play peek a boo and babble and giggle together when they see one another.

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and outcomes for children

A consistent approach is adhered to with regard to behaviour management and consequently children behave well and benefit from the consistent praise and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 encouragement they receive from staff. This helps to promote their confidence and self -esteem. Children are aware of the nursery routines and help to tidy up when they hear a staff member play the tambourine. Children become aware of their own safety as they recall the rules of the nursery with staff and the reason for these. They also have opportunities to take part in fire evacuation.

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and outcomes for children

Children are becoming independent in their self-help skills. This includes washing their hands at appropriate times and pouring their own drinks at snack time. They enjoy healthy snacks of fruit and breadsticks, with milk or water and this helps develop their understanding of healthy eating. Snack time is a social time for the children as they sit at the tables with staff who engage them in conversations as they ask them what they have been doing during the half-term holiday. Children develop skills for the future through the activities on offer, staff promoting their understanding of a healthy lifestyle and encouraging a caring sharing attitude to others. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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